Ahearn v. Town of Wheatland

2002 WY 12, 39 P.3d 409, 2002 Wyo. LEXIS 13, 2002 WL 109599
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 29, 2002
Docket00-276
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 2002 WY 12 (Ahearn v. Town of Wheatland) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wyoming Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ahearn v. Town of Wheatland, 2002 WY 12, 39 P.3d 409, 2002 Wyo. LEXIS 13, 2002 WL 109599 (Wyo. 2002).

Opinion

GOLDEN, Justice.

[T1] Appellant Francis Abearn (Ahearn) challenges the validity of Appellee Town of Wheatiand's municipal ordinance that provides abbreviated procedures for resubdivid-ing property within an existing subdivision on grounds that it conflicts with various state statutes. He contends that, by state statutory definition, division of a previously subdivided tract into three parcels is the creation of a new subdivision which cannot be accomplished without proceeding under those statutes and ordinances governing the creation of a new subdivision. Ahearn also contends that the municipality's failure to notify a party holding a certificate of sale violated the ordinance's provision requiring notice to property owners of record within 140 feet, excluding streets, from the parcel and requires reversal of approval. The district court determined no conflict existed because the state statutes authorized the Town of Wheatland to enact ordinances governing subdivision and authorized resubdividing in this manner. It held that approval was properly granted and granted summary judgment to the Town of Wheatland.

[T2] We hold that the Town of Wheat-land has acted in accord with all governing law and affirm the summary judgment.

*412 ISSUES

[T8] Ahearn presents these issues for our review:

I. Is a division of a tract or parcel of land into three (8) or more parts for immediate or future sale or building development considered a subdivision pursuant to Wyoming law?
IL. Shall every original owner of a subdivided tract of land have to give their free consent and sign the subdivision plat map?
III. Can a municipality enact ordinances which allow a developer to subdivide a tract of land into three (8) parcels without complying with Wyoming statutes for recording a plat map?

The Town of Wheatland (Wheatland) restates the issues as:

(1) Was the district court correct in granting summary judgment in favor of the Town of Wheatland and as such holding that Ordinance No. 670 was valid?
(2) Did the Town of Wheatland correctly follow the procedures outlined in Ordinance No. 670 when it approved the application filed by Anderson/ Bishop pursuant to Ordinance No. 6707

FACTS

[¶4] The property at the center of this dispute is 4.84 acres known as Tract' G that is located in the Town of Wheatland in a subdivision known as Black Mountain Village, Filing No. 1, which was, according to the application filed by Anderson/Bishop, originally platted on September 30, 1986, Tract G is owned in part by the general partnership of Anderson/Bishop (Anderson), which sought approval to divide its part of the tract into three lots. On January 19, 1999, Anderson filed an application with the Wheatland for an "abbreviated method of replatting land within a part of an improved and platted subdivision in accordance with Ordinance No. 670 of the ordinances of the Town of Wheat-land." Ordinance No. 670 provides for an abbreviated method of resubdividing previously subdivided land as long as the subdivision contains tracts or parcels that can be split into three or fewer parcels. State statute defines subdivision as the division of a tract or parcel of land into three (8) or more parts for immediate or future sale or building development. Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 15-1-501(a)(iii) (LexisNexis 2001).

[T51 Anderson does not own all of Tract G; 1.110 acres is owned by Pine Lawn Investment Company (Pine Lawn) and was not part of the application. Ahearn is an owner of Pine Lawn and holds a mortgage on the 1.110 acres owned by it.

[T6] On February 8, 1999, the town council held a public hearing on Anderson's application, and Ahearn objected to its approval. The town council voted unanimously to preliminarily approve the application and to consider final approval at a special meeting on February 24, 1999. Ahearn appeared at that meeting also and voiced his objections. Final approval was unanimously given at that meeting.

[T7] Ahearn filed a complaint for declaratory judgment in district court in February 26, 1999. Ahearn alleged that the town council had violated Ordinance No. 670 by preliminarily approving the application at its February 8, 1999, meeting in violation of the notification requirements; had violated Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 34-12-103 and the Wheatland Development Code by approving an application that did not include the signatures of all property owners in Tract G; had violated the Wheatland Development Code by failing to obtain review of the Wheatland Planning Commission; and had violated Ordinance No. 670 and Wyo. Stat. Ann. §§ 15-1-602 and 151-203 and the Wheatland Development Code by failing to give proper notice to all adjacent property owners. The complaint requested that the court declare Ordinance No. 670 void because it conflicts with Wyoming statutes and is vague, and declare the town council's approval void for all the violations alleged; it also sought damages and attorney fees.

[T18] Wheatland filed a motion to dismiss, and the claim for damages was dismissed for failure to comply with Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-39-113. 1 Wheatland then filed an answer, *413 and the district court heard argument on the parties' motions for summary judgment. Summary judgment was granted to appel-lees, and this appeal followed.

DISCUSSION

Standard of Review

[T9] When this Court reviews a summary judgment granted in a declaratory judgment action, we invoke our usual standard for review of summary judgments. Fontaine v. Board of County Comm'rs of Park County, 4 P.3d 890, 892 (Wyo.2000). Summary judgment is proper only when there are no genuine issues of material fact and the prevailing party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Mountain Cement Co. v. Johnson, 884 P.2d 30, 32 (Wyo.1994); W.R.C.P. 56(c). We review a summary judgment in the «same light as the district court, using the same materials and following the same standards. "We examine the record from the vantage point most favorable to the party opposing the motion, and we give that party the benefit of all favorable inferences which may fairly be drawn from the record." Four Nines Gold, Inc. v. 71 Constr., Inc., 809 P.2d 236, 238 (Wyo.1991). Summary judgment serves the purpose of eliminating formal trials where only questions of law are involved. Blagrove v. JB Mechanical, Inc., 934 P.2d 1273, 1275 (Wyo.1997); England v. Simmons, 728 P.2d 1137, 1141 (Wyo.1986). We review a grant of summary judgment by deciding a question of law de novo and afford no deference to the district court's ruling on that question. Sammons v. American Auto. Ass'n, 912 P.2d 1103, 1105 (Wyo.1996); Blagrove, 934 P.2d at 1275.

Subdivision Controls

The Town of Wheatland is a municipal corporation.

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Bluebook (online)
2002 WY 12, 39 P.3d 409, 2002 Wyo. LEXIS 13, 2002 WL 109599, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ahearn-v-town-of-wheatland-wyo-2002.